Rosenfeld, Avi: Burn the Castle

As a lover of all things Ritchie Blackmore and a big 70's hard rock/metal guy in general, Burn the Castle by Ari Rosenfeld (and a multitude of guests) would appear to be an album after my own heart. It's very much a record full of Purple/Rainbow worship (Ari pretty much confirms this without using those exact words) and while I appreciate the sentiment of releasing some classic keyboard driven hard rock in the year of our lord 2023, it's just too by the numbers and on the nose.

Ari is a multi instrumentalist and songwriter who clearly reveres the 70's sound, with plenty of Hammond organs and Blackmorean staccato riffs to be found. There's an absolute flood of guests on this album, most notably Ex-Rainbow keyboard wizard David Stone. He only plays on one track here, the 10 minute slogfest that is "I Believe in the Sunrise", and I can't help but feel that he probably could have been put to better use. Burn the Castle isn't without its charms, mainly the guitars and keys, and the vocals aren't too shabby either for the most part. The pair of vocalists on here have a Ronnie Romero/Bernie Shaw quality about them, which as you might guess fits this genre like a glove. Unfortunately, the entire album sounds a bit lifeless and there are a few questionable performances among the guest musicians. I don't know if the drummer drank a handle of Jim Beam before laying down his tracks for "Total Loss", but holy hell is it sloppy.

Burn the Castle is an album that I can respect, and one that I honestly admire for wearing its influences on its sleeves as much as it does. However, there's nothing here but retreads, and you're better off listening to any of the legendary albums that inspired this one so much.

Tracklist:
1. Burn The Castle
2. Down To The Water Line
3. Total Loss
4. Kadish
5. Island Shores
6. I Believe In The Sunrise ft. David Stone (Rainbow)
7. Rock Down The Stage
8. Straight To The Light
9. Hey Uchnem
10. King Of The Shadows

Added: November 14th 2023
Reviewer: Brandon Miles
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
Hits: 516
Language: english

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